John Kline's Contributions to the Church

from the Epilogue of Courageous Prophet by Roger E. Sappington

First, he was a good steward, one who used his property and his life well. Throughout his life he set aside a portion of each harvest for the church and for the needy. His body was cared for judiciously, so that he might be available whenever he was needed....

Second, he was a pastor and considered himself called by God and devoted his life to the service of God, ministering to the spiritual needs of others with a particular concern for special groups such as the young and the aged.

Third, he was a missionary with a passion for those who were unchurched, traveling more that 100,000 miles, most of it on horseback, in his missionary tours in the states of Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and Tennessee.

Fourth, he was a physician and scientist with a remarkable progressive viewpoint. He followed the Thompsonian system, which proposed to heal by removing the cause of the illness. He demonstrated his progressive interest in building better roads and railroads.

Fifth, he was an ardent defender of the Brethren faith. Much of his preaching centered around the doctrines of the church, which were his understanding of the Christian faith, an understanding he had come by after years of careful and diligent study.

Sixth, he was a social actionist in his desire to eliminate the evil of slavery and in his opposition to war as a means of settling dieputes. When the Civil War came, he sought to make it possible for the Brethren to honor their conscientious objection to participation in the military forces of the Confederacy. He was not hesitant in communicating with officials of state, local and Confederate governments in order to express his convictions of social problems.

Seventh, he was a courageous prophet with the ability to speak wisely on the social and religious concerns of his time. As a man of God, he had been granted a keen insight in to the direction in which the church was moving.

Eighth, and finally, John Kline was a didicated Christian who used all of the personal strength and the physical prosperity which God had given him for the glory of God and his neighbor's good.

For additional information contact:

Pastor Paul Roth

Linville Creek Church of the Brethren

PO Box 274

Broadway, Va 22815

Phone: 540-896-5001

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